Wales has announced its retraction from the UK-wide Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).
In a statement yesterday (18 November), Huw Irranca-Davies, Cabinet Secretary for climate change and rural affairs, said the country was “not able to proceed with the joint process” of developing a DRS across the UK.
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Irranca-Davies added that its government would now be working “to develop a scheme that supports the transition to reuse for all drinks containers including those made from glass”.
The DRS system, expected to come into force in the UK in 2027, will see consumers pay a small fee when purchasing bottles or cans. The money is refunded when containers are returned to a designated collection point.
The scheme will apply to PET plastic, steel and aluminum drinks containers throughout the UK.
Ideas for the DRS first came about in 2018. Glass bottles were removed from pending plans for the scheme in England and Northern Ireland in 2022, while Wales and Scotland decided to keep it.
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By GlobalDataLast year, the UK government approved the launch of DRS in Scotland, but noted that glass would be excluded temporarily.
It approved Scotland’s exemption from the Internal Market Act, enabling Scotland’s DRS to go ahead. Glass, however, would not allowed to be included in the scheme until DRS systems were in place in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Wales has remained firm on its plan to include glass in the DRS ever since.
Responding to Wales’ latest decision, British Soft Drinks Association director general, Gavin Partington, said: “We regret the Welsh government’s decision which undermines efforts to deliver an aligned Deposit Return Scheme across the UK and help the move towards a circular economy.
“We remain committed to a DRS for cans and PET delivered by October 2027 and will continue to work with governments to achieve this.”
David Chapman, executive director of the Welsh branch of UKHospitality described the move from the Welsh government as “extremely disappointing”.
He said: “Successful Deposit Return Schemes will deliver maximum alignment and interoperability between nations. That unfortunately now looks further away than ever with this decision.”
Wales’ decision to create its spin-off of the scheme, Chapman added, could “increase cost and complexity for businesses operating across the UK, makes the objective of improving recycling more difficult and could lead to a reduction in products available in Wales.
“I would urge the Welsh government to carefully consider all cross-border issues in the development of its scheme to ensure that Welsh businesses can have the easiest transition into any new scheme proposals,” he said.
